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The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
- Edmund P. Clowney (1917-2005)
("I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13) |
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ACTS 13:13-25; PS 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 AND 27
JN 13:16-20
When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am
telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."
USCCB Lectionary
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John 13:16-20 (Jesus, the servant)
Jesus’ Resurrection won for us the grace to love as God loves. This love is to take the form of loving service, however, and is not to be used for self-glorification.
• Leo Tolstoy wrote that people who live according to principles other than love can justify all sorts of treachery against other people, invoking their principles as a rationale. Do you believe this?
• Who are the primary beneficiaries of the loving service you offer? Can you expand this circle?
Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 3: Ego (excerpts)
It is a short step from this (mental) objectification of oneself as an “I” to the formulation of a descriptor of “I.” After all, we do this with everything else in duality, and for good reason. It is good to know the difference between an apple and a tomato, and to be able to say something about that. It is also inevitable to learn adjectives in one’s linguistic formation -- words that
describe reality both objectively and subjectively. We have red apples, which are sweet, fire which is dangerous because it is hot, water that is cold and refreshing. This is seemingly harmless, but there is Aunt Sally who is nice, Uncle Warren who is silly, Grandpa who is cranky, and so forth. Adjectives provide important information that helps the child navigate its way in relationships, but they introduce one to mild and not-so-mild judgmental associations at a very early
age.
Just as we do for others, so, too for “I”: we associate a variety of words and adjectives in reference to “I”. Boy/girl, cute/ugly, good/bad, smart/dumb,
big/little, and so forth are terms that young children strongly attach to. “I” eventually assumes an objective dimension -- a “Me.” Self-image (or concept, if one prefers) gives “Me” a sense of Who-I-Am, and identity becomes focused and integrated in self-image. Ask anyone five years old or older who they are and they will begin to share something of their self-image. Some aspects of self-image are very basic and foundational: name, gender, age, grade in school, nationality and so
forth. There can be countless other pieces to which one has attached importance: sports teams, actors, musicians, movies, books -- about all of which one can have favorites which reflect back to oneself something important about oneself.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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